Written By: Shraddha Rupavate | Updated : September 5, 2014 11:29 AM IST
The World health Organisation 's (WHO) first global report on suicide prevention, released Thursday, revealed that India had the highest number of recorded suicide cases in the year 2012 globally. The total number of suicide cases in was reported to be 258,075. Out of these 158,098 suicides were committed by men and 99,977 by women.
Globally, more number of men commit suicide than women. The frequency is greater in richer countries, where men are three times more likely than to commit suicide than women.
Most suicides in the world were recorded in the South-East Asia Region. About 75% per cent of suicide cases occurred in those in low- and middle-income countries. While suicide rates were found to be highest in people aged 70 years, the most vulnerable age group was found to be 15-29 years. In fact, suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth aged 15 to 29 years globally.
'This report is a call for action to address a large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long,' said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.
To prevent suicides the report emphasises implementation of a coordinated plan of action and targeting the most common ways of committing included pesticide poisoning, hanging and firearms.
When you know someone who is suicidal
Take them seriously. Suicidal people tend to leave hints for others.
If you are prone to suicidal thoughts very often, here some things you can do to help yourself
Read more: How to deal with suicidal thoughts
What is depression?
The term depression is used to describe a long period of sadness. It can either refer to a person's mood where he or she is feeling sad and dejected or to describe a debilitating mental illness called major depressive disorder. To feel sad during major life crises is normal but major depressive disorder refers to a condition where there is prolonged sadness without any link to life events. It's important to remember that major depressive disorder is an illness and needs to be treated just like other ailments. Depression can affect a person emotionally as well as physically.
Common symptoms of depression include unhappiness, loss of interest in activities which were earlier pleasurable, loss of appetite, lack of energy and motivation, difficulty in concentrating, inability to make decisions and sleep problems (mainly insomnia). Chronic, untreated depression can induce suicidal thoughts in people. But it can be treated well with antidepressant drugs if people accept their problem and consider taking treatment. In this section, you'll find articles on common triggers of depression like lack of sleep, hearing loss, migraine and obesity. You can find several options like exercising, meditation and certain food like yogurt, to prevent stress in your life that can lead to depression. Read more about depression types, causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention.
With inputs from IANS
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